Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez is due to return to the first-team squad soon after a lengthy injury lay off
t was a sight for sore eyes this week as images from Carrington were released. Front and centre in the Manchester United training photos was Lisandro Martinez, celebrating another milestone since his ACL injury picked up vs Crystal Palace in February.
It was a measure of Martinez’s character that he has been pushing for a return to the first-team squad for weeks. Ruben Amorim admitted he told the defender he could not travel for the trip to Nottingham Forest last month.
He was not risked a week later either for the draw at Tottenham Hotspur and his absence was understandable. Martinez has been out since February and rushing the defender back, potentially aggravating the injury further would have been a foolish decision having come this far on his recovery.
Missing out on the Spurs game almost guaranteed we would see Martinez back among the first-team when they returned to Carrington post-international break and that is how it shaped up. However, his role at the club has changed beyond what anyone was expecting.
When he left the field against Palace, United were losing more than just a member of their leadership group. Martinez was the leading defender at the club and a guaranteed starter in the back five, considering the lack of options available to Amorim.
But when he returns this weekend, he will find that his once guaranteed starting spot in the United team now belongs to Luke Shaw. When Martinez joined the injury room at Carrington, Shaw was there waiting for him as he continued his recovery from a muscular injury.
That was his third major injury of the 2024/25 season and it was looking unlikely Shaw would ever be in a position again to challenge for a regular starting XI position. Fast forward to November, and Shaw has featured in 11 straight Premier League matches for the first time since 2023.
The Englishman is there on merit too. Barring the much-publicised disappointing performance against Manchester City, Shaw has been one of the top performers on the left of the back three, and it was surprising not to see him called up for England.
Coming back into the fold at United, Martinez now faces the prospect of being forced to wait for his chance in the starting XI. The Argentine will have expected to be eased back into the first-team but even when fully fit, he is waiting for Shaw to slip up to take his chance.
This will be a challenge that Martinez will undoubtedly relish but it is a big 18 months ahead for the 27-year-old. He is out of contract in the summer of 2027 and if he doesn’t manage to replace Shaw, there’s a chance his time at the club could be coming to an end.
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